4: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park

Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
4: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
1. Description of Property
Municipal Address
Name (if applicable)
Legal Description
Location of Property
Ownership
Access
Current Use
Existing Designation
General Description
1219-1311 Burloak Drive
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
PT LT 34, CON 2 TRAFALGAR, SOUTH OF DUNDAS STREET , PT 1, PE1535; T/W PT 2, PE1535 ;
PT LT 34, CON 2 TRAFALGAR, SOUTH OF DUNDAS STREET , PART 1, 2 , PE1536 ; PT LTS 34 &
35, CON 2 TRAFALGAR, SOUTH OF DUNDAS STREET , PART 1, 2 , 20R370 , S/T & T/W 335985
Located on the east side of Burloak Drive and bounded to the south by the QEW, to the east
by Bronte Creek and Bronte Road, and to the north by Dundas Street.
Public – Province of Ontario
Site visit completed September 21, 2015 (AB, CU)
Provincial Park
Listed on the Register of Properties of Cultural Heritage Value of Interest (NOT Designated).
Description: “This property has potential cultural heritage value for its natural heritage
features, built heritage features and as a cultural heritage landscape.”
Bronte Creek Provincial Park encompasses approximately 689 hectares of land both sides of
Bronte Creek (Twelve Mile Creek). It was established in 1972 and is described in the 2002
Management Plan as “an oasis in a developing urban landscape”. The park includes at least
three relict farmsteads, and components of several other 19th- and early-20th-century
properties.
Priority Level
Low
Figure 1: Bronte Creek Provincial Park, gatehouse accessed off Burloak Drive. (CU 2015)
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Golf Course
Footpaths
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House
Historic
Trees
Stone
Chimney
Historic
Oak
Bronte
Creek
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Q.E
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Barn
Footpaths
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Golf Course
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Corporation of the
Town of Oakville
1225 Trafalgar Rd
Oakville, ON
L6H 0H3
on
te
Rd
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House
Historic
Trees
Stone
Chimney
Historic
Oak
Bronte
Creek
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Cultural Heritage Landscape
Inventory Map
LEGEND
Assessment Boundary
Building
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Bu
rlo
ak
Q.
E.W
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CHL Study Area
Heritage District
Heritage Trail
Dr
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Parkland
Park Trail
Road
Site Structures
Vegetation
Watercourse
Cemetery
Drawing not to scale
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St.
as
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Du
Barn
Pond
Upp
er
M
iddl
e Rd
.W
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Golf Course
Footpaths
Br
on
te
Rd
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House
Historic
Trees
Historic
Oak
Bronte
Creek
Barn Complex
Field
Farmhouse
Field
Q.E
Bu
.W
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Field
Parking Lot
rloa
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r.
Barn Complex
Field
Corporation of the
Town of Oakville
1225 Trafalgar Rd
Oakville, ON
L6H 0H3
Farmhouse
Field
Field
Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Spruce Lane Farm
Cultural Heritage Landscape
Inventory Map
LEGEND
Assessment Boundary
Building
CHL Study Area
Heritage District
Heritage Trail
Parkland
Park Trail
Road
Site Structures
Parking Lot
Vegetation
Watercourse
Cemetery
Drawing not to scale
Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
2. Key Recommendations
Priority = Low
Rationale for priority level:
•
•
•
•
No known vulnerabilities with respect to development;
All existing built and natural cultural heritage resources may not have been identified or included in protection
policies;
Heritage Register may not reflect current conditions; and
Limitations due to provincial ownership.
Recommendations for future action:
•
Contact the custodian ministry for the park to confirm whether a cultural heritage evaluation report has been
prepared and whether the park has been identified as a provincial heritage property;
•
Prepare a full evaluation report to identify heritage value and confirm and map key heritage attributes, focussing on
areas within the park with cultural heritage landscapes related to the development of Oakville; and
•
Prepare a Statement of Significance, including a list of heritage attributes, to accompany the entry in the Heritage
Register.
3. Documentation and Inventory of Built Form
List of Built Features:
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•
•
•
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Burloak Drive gatehouse, roads, facilities, parking and pathways related to park activities;
Upper Middle Road gatehouse, roads, pathways and facilities related to camping grounds;
Children’s Farm;
Swimming pool;
Logging trail; and
Five historic buildings or farmsteads:
o Spruce Lane Farm (c.1899), former home of the Breckon family, with a c.1899 farmhouse and a complex of
barns, stables and fencing;
o Park Headquarters,(possibly the “D. Lucas” farm shown on the 1877 Map of Trafalgar Township) and
associated silo;
o Nature Centre the 1884 James Wilkerson farmhouse;
o Tyrell House (possibly dating to the early 20th century); and
o Silver Birch Farmhouse (c.1860), possibly the “Ezard” farmhouse shown on the 1877 Map of Trafalgar
Township.
4. Documentation and Inventory of Natural Form
List of Natural Features:
The biodiversity of Bronte Creek Provincial Park with respect to natural features is well-documented in sources such as the
Park’s 2008 Vegetation Management Plan. The screening-level site visit did not allow for an exhaustive examination of all
plant varieties encountered, particularly those related to park activities and recent landscaping. This list of Natural Features
focuses on notable features related to farmstead activities and land use associated with the history of Trafalgar Township. It
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Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
should also be noted that there is a possibility that plant species and marker trees related to First Nations use of the area
along Bronte Creek may be extant, particularly as marker trees have been noted along the creek, south of the QEW. 1
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mature tree-lines along former property lines and laneways (primarily Maple and Spruce were noted);
orchard trees at Spruce Lane Farm (apples) and Tyrell House (apples and pears);
Black Walnut and Lilac among plants noted at surrounding farmhouses;
heritage orchards; and
Maple sugar wood lot.
5. Design (Typology)
‘X’ all that
apply
Categories of Cultural
Heritage Landscape
Designed Landscape
X
Organically Evolved
Landscape
Relict Landscape
(Evolved Landscape)
X
Continuing Landscape
(Evolved Landscape)
Associative Cultural
Landscape
Description
“…clearly defined landscape designed and created
intentionally by man.”
“…results from an initial social, economic,
administrative, and/or religious imperative and has
developed in its present form in response to its
natural environment”
“…in which an evolutionary process came to an end at
some time in the past.”
“…retains an active social role in contemporary society
closely associated with the traditional way of life, and
which the evolutionary process is still in progress.”
“…justifiable by virtue of the powerful
religious, artistic, or cultural associations of the
natural element rather than material cultural
evidence, which may be insignificant or even absent.”
6. Historical and Thematic Associations
Trafalgar Township was first surveyed in 1795 (Dundas Street only) and 1806 (the Wilmot survey of Halton County).
Settlement of Trafalgar Township began in the spring and summer of 1807. In 1820, land in the Mississauga Tract at the
mouth of the Twelve Mile and Sixteen Mile creeks was ceded to the Crown and became available for purchase and
settlement. Early agricultural products were timber and potash, as farmers cleared their land. They were followed by wheat
and other grain crops. After the crash in wheat prices in 1857, farmers switched to growing fruit and began planting orchards
and strawberry fields.
The 1877 map of Trafalgar Township shows the area of Bronte Creek Provincial Park was taken up with farmsteads and large
orchards, including those of: David Lucas, G.F. Carey, Jonathan Ezard, the Breckon family, William Douglas, J.S. Teeple, James
White, and W.C. Inglehart (Figure 4).2 The area continued in agricultural use until it was expropriated to create Bronte Creek
Provincial Park in 1972. Since then, park infrastructure has been added to provide recreational spaces for patrons and access
through the various areas of the park. Several historic buildings have been reused as offices and educational spaces, although
other buildings have been mothballed. The historic fabric of the park (built and natural) is in various states of completeness
and repair. In some cases, buildings appear to have been moved and added for interpretative reasons.
1
2
Betty Strong, Bronte Historical Society. Letter Dated September 11, 2015.
J.H. Pope, Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Halton, Ont., (Toronto: Walker & Miles, 1877).
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Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
As a result of the unique circumstances of the park, in particular the lack of residential development that now characterizes
other areas of the north end of Oakville; the historic farmsteads now contained within the park have been conserved to
varying states. The park contains components of at least three of Trafalgar Township’s historic farmsteads. In particular,
remnants of two orchards were noted during the site visits. These represent some of the few remaining examples of
Oakville’s agricultural industry in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.
Figure 4: General location of Bronte Creek Provincial Park in relation to an 1877 map of Trafalgar Township (Pope, 1877)
7. Contextual Associations
Bronte Creek Provincial Park is visually and historically linked to its surroundings, particularly as a result of the remaining
farmsteads and Twelve Mile Creek (Bronte Creek) which runs through the park.
8. Evaluation (O. Reg 9/06)
O.Reg.9/06 Criteria
1. The property has design value or physical
value because it,
Criteria
Potentially
Met (Y/N)
Potential Justification
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Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
O.Reg.9/06 Criteria
i. is a rare, unique, representative or early
example of a style, type, expression,
material, or construction method,
ii. displays a high degree of craftsmanship
or artistic merit, or
iii. demonstrates a high degree of technical
or scientific achievement.
2. The property has historical value or
associative value because it,
i. has direct associations with a theme,
event, belief, person, activity, organization
or institution that is significant to a
community,
ii. yields, or has the potential to yield,
information that contributes to an
understanding of a community or culture,
or
iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or
ideas of an architect, artist, builder,
designer or theorist who is significant to a
community.
3. The property has contextual value
because it,
i. is important in defining, maintaining or
supporting the character of an area,
Criteria
Potentially
Met (Y/N)
Potential Justification
Y
The park includes several representative
examples of mid-19th to early 20th
century farmhouses and agricultural
outbuildings.
The park includes rare examples of at
least two remnant orchards (apples and
pears).
N
Not shown.
N
Not shown.
Y
Components of the park are directly
associated with the agricultural history
of Trafalgar Township, specifically fruitgrowing. The park contains components
of at least three of the township’s
historic farmsteads, and remnants of at
least two orchards.
Portions of the park, along the creek, are
also related to the pre-settlement use of
the area by First Nations peoples, in
particular the Anishinaabe.
Y
The area has high potential for
additional information that contributes
to an understanding of the 19th and 20th
century farming community, as well to
earlier use by First Nations.
N
Builder/designer/architects unknown
N
ii. is physically, functionally, visually or
historically linked to its surroundings, or
Y
iii. is a landmark.
Y
Not shown.
The park is visually and historically
linked to its surroundings, particularly as
surrounding farmsteads and Twelve Mile
Creek (Bronte Creek) which runs
through the park.
The park is a landmark and tourism
destination.
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Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
9. Photographic Documentation
Figure 5: Agricultural Outbuildings at Spruce Lane Farm. (CU 2015)
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Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
Figure 6: Farmhouse at Spruce Lane Farm. (c.1899)
Figure 7: Remnant silo at rear of Park Headquarters. (CU 2015)
Figure 8: Silver Birch Farmhouse, west of Spruce Lane Farm, is boarded up. (CU 2015)
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Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
10.
Analysis & Recommendations
Potential Heritage Value:
As a whole, Bronte Creek Provincial Park is a potentially significant cultural heritage landscape that includes recreational and
natural areas. However, viewing the park from the perspective of local significance, there are specific areas within the park
that reflect important themes in the history and evolution of Oakville. The historic farmsteads located within the park are in
varying states of repair and completeness. Five in particular (although there may be merit in studying all of the park’s former
farmsteads) provide rare or unique examples of farmstead activities related to important themes (fruit growing and logging).
These areas include: the Heritage Orchards, Logging Trail, Spruce Land Farm, Silver Birch Farmhouse and the area
surrounding and including Tyrell House.
Actions:
The park is owned by the Province of Ontario and is listed on Oakville’s municipal heritage register. The OHA provides that
Part IV (individual property designation by municipalities) and Part V (heritage conservation district designation) do not apply
to property that is owned by the provincial government or by a prescribed public body. However, municipalities may include
provincially owned properties on a municipal register of non-designated properties. Heritage properties owned or occupied
by the provincial government or a prescribed public body are subject to the Standards & Guidelines for Conservation of
Provincial Heritage Properties (“the provincial S&Gs”), a set of guidelines issued by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport
in 2010. The provincial S&Gs require provincial ministries and agencies to establish and maintain a cultural heritage
conservation policy and procedures to identify, manage and conserve provincial heritage properties.
Bronte Creek Provincial Park has adopted its own Management Plan (2002) which includes the identification of “Heritage
Areas” (Spruce Lane Farm and Heritage Orchards) and overarching policies related to the care and management of cultural
heritage resources. Section 4.2.3 “Heritage Appreciation,” identifies the following goal for the park with respect to cultural
heritage, “To provide opportunities for visitors to explore and appreciate the natural and cultural resources existing in Bronte
Creek Provincial Park.” 3 The Management Plan also identifies areas of archaeological sensitivity.
The Town may want to conduct a full evaluation of limited areas within the park which reflect important themes in the history
and evolution of Oakville, with a view to updating the listing on the municipal heritage register and equipping itself to provide
meaningful stakeholder input if called upon by the province. The Town may want to start by contacting Infrastructure Ontario or
and the Ministry of Natural Resources to confirm:
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Who is the custodian ministry for the park?
Has a cultural heritage evaluation report has been prepared by the custodian ministry and can it be shared with the
Town?
Has the park been identified as a provincial heritage property by the custodian ministry?
A ‘low’ priority level is recommended for the following reasons:
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•
•
•
3
No known vulnerabilities with respect to development;
All existing built and natural cultural heritage resources may not have been identified or included in protection
policies;
Heritage Register may not reflect current conditions; and
Limitations due to provincial ownership.
Ontario Parks “Management Plan,” 2002: 6.
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Inventory Report: 1219-1311 Burloak Drive, Bronte Creek Provincial Park
11.
Sources
Ontario Parks, Bronte Creek Provincial Park: Vegetation Management Plan, Toronto: Queen’s Printer, 2008.
---, Bronte Creek Provincial Park: Management Plan, Toronto: Queen’s Printer, 2002.
Strong, Betty, Bronte Historical Society. Email (letter attachment). Dated September 11, 2015
J.H. Pope, “Bronte,” in Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Halton, Ont., Toronto: Walker & Miles, 1877.
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